Knights of the Longbox

Saviors in sand

30

APR/17

Fleeing the city, Cale desperately hopes to find water for the party and a source of healing for Syd. With the horses rapidly exhausted, the search becomes hopeless until the group finds a small oasis, guarded by a pair of sinister extraplanar salamanders. Rejecting their shakedown, Rimidan leads a battle against them, smiting them and freeing a group of Romaden women who had been captured by the beasts. Their leader, a woman named Dema, helps the adventurers and informs them of The City of Brass, an outpost of the ifreet from the Elemental Plane of Fire who are making inroads in setting up a city of their own on the Material Plane by pulling a piece of the City of Brass through a massive portal. The party also meets a pair of members of the Vanguards of the Waste, named Deegen and Olgern. Deegen has been stricken with Mummy Rot and is dying and his sister hopes to heal him. Cale helps Deegen stave off the disease but more powerful magic is needed to help him fight it off for good. Rimidan pushes the teem to bring the Vanguards back to their home at the Fields of Krane but the rest of the team pushes to find the men of the Romaden tribe, who went missing while investigating an earthquake.

The party rests and the next morning set off to find the tribe’s men with Dema gifting an artifact, the magic Shield of Mercy to Rimmidan. The team quickly discover an unearthed arcane door, heavily trapped and filled with dangerous residents. The team makes its way to the compound’s center and finds a gnome named Allecezzar and his major domo, a half genie named Nebbhakai. Allecezzar apologizes for the injuries to the Romaden and is working to heal them of their wounds. The party asks what drove them into the compound and the gnome reveals that they were fleeing from The Glutton, an agent of the Sons of the Drake who has been prowling the desert, knocking off caravans and killing innocents to gather tithes for his masters. Raiding the gnome’s armory, the party gathers new weapons and tools and heads back into the desert after The Glutton.

They’re not forced to wait long and enter battle with the half-dragon warrior, who nearly leaves them for dead twice. Cale finally kills the agent and the team takes his gear, heading back to Dema and suggesting she meet with Alecezzar while the party heads to the Fields of Krane with the wounded Vanguard Knights.